Cango Caves, South Africa
In fact, the Cango Caves have become Africa's biggest show caves as well as one of the Seven Wonders situated in Southern Africa, and which causes the Cango Caves to be a historical and archaeological attraction of the Klein Karoo.
Cango Caves lie 29 kilometers from Oudtshoorn precisely in the beautiful Cango Valley, plus is located in a limestone ridge which runs alongside to the famous Swartberg Mountains and moreover, here you’ll see the lovely dripstone caves, with their vast far-reaching halls and very high limestone formations in a wide range of colors.
Previously, it was believed to be just around 1 kilometer long, except the caves now have been confirmed to stretch normally for way over 5 kilometers, but it can be somewhat longer, bigger and even more puzzling than recent estimations. You could visit about 1/4 of the whole 5 kilometers system of interconnecting tunnels. The remainder is currently shut for conservation purposes.
Experience the Cango Caves
While entering the caves, an immediate splash of warm humidity and temperature will greet you. The chambers are well lit so you can admire all the raw and natural charm of the cave chambers.
From the entry point, a set of stairs takes you below to the massive Van Zyl’s Hall, an unbelievable cave that’s 107 meters in length, 54 meters at its broadest and reaching as high as 17 meters. Also, you could anticipate finding other formations such as the 10-meter-tall Cleopatra’s Needle, the Organ Pipes, the Ballerina and the Frozen Waterfall.
The Cango Caves pioneered the following:
- It’s today South Africa’s earliest tourist attraction. Actually, the first tour here happened in 1891, becoming an instant hit and a favorite tourist attraction.
- It was really the first cave to get serious attention by the government, which then led to the cave receiving protection by environmental legislation. Lord Charles Somerset in 1820 published the very first Caves Regulation, which went on to become the first law drafted to protect a rare environmentally related resource situated in South Africa. It even went so far as banning the accumulation of souvenirs and penalizing anyone discovered harming the cave’s formations.
- It’s also the first to come up with a full-time tourist-like guide. Several of the most important discoveries in the Cango Caves occurred through the hands of its first full-time tourist guide, Johnnie van Wassenaar, employed for 43 years, beginning from 1891 to his retirement in the year 1934. Johnnie opened several side chambers, introducing the first wave of people to tour through the caves.
It's even the first show cave given a radio communication system which permits the tourist guides to communicate freely with the world through these radios, meaning that whatever happens during the tours are communicated at once to the outside, plus anything needed to be addressed could be done literally in only seconds, helping to make the overall journey much safer as well as more comfortable.
Daily tours
The Cango Caves now offer a fair range of daily tours that are conducted by accredited, knowledgeable, and experienced cave guides. Moreover, tours are provided in English. Also, languages such as Afrikaans, German, French are now available.
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